Smart water metering and rational pricing in urban areas is needed to ensure equitable, leakage-free domestic water supplies to the general public, speakers said at a one-day seminar organised by the Centre for Climate Research and Development (CCRD), COMSATS University Islamabad, in collaboration with PCRWR and SDC Islamabad.
Addressing on the occasion, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhary said that future of Pakistan lies in wisdom, education and science and technology. “There is a need to develop technological skills in competitive areas. Ministry of Science and Technology envisions for its 15 research institutions as centers for research excellence, making way for the private sector to utilize their knowledge in developing technologies for general public,” he said.
Head of International Cooperation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Daniel Valenghi highlighted on the prolonged partnership of Pakistan and Switzerland in the area of water and hoped that such relations will foster in future as well.
Chairman PCRWR Dr Ashraf said that water overuse at domestic level increases volume of highly contaminated waste water. Water metering at domestic level is crucial to reduce such wastage and to reduce non-reusable water, he added.
Head CCRD Prof Dr Athar Hussain shed light on the importance of academia and research organization partnership leading to involvement of youth in evidence-based policy making. During the technical session, Dr Toqeer Ahmed, Assistant Professor CCRD, CUI, and Hassaan Sipra, Scientific Officer, CCRD, deliberated on the experiences of smart water metering in Islamabad.
